In My Six and a Half Tatami Mat House, Lives a Silver-haired (CP)

It was early April, the cherry blossoms were in full bloom, and Minato Kujo, now a second-year high school student, had been invited by his stepmother Kaede Kujo to have dinner in a family restaurant near the house where he would live alone right after the clean-up of today's entrance ceremony.

I walked in and was shown to a table, where I found my stepmother, a nervous-looking man, and her – Airi Ninomiya.

Airi Ninomiya.

At today's entrance ceremony, it was rumored that there was an incredibly beautiful girl among the new students.

She had long, straight silver hair that reached her waist, clear icy blue eyes, and a beautiful face that looked like a perfect doll.

Her skin was blemish-free, and she had a body that showed where it should and retracted where it should. She was the perfect girl.

In addition, she seemed to have a good head on her shoulders, as she was giving a speech on behalf of the new students.

I wondered why she was here and noticed a large carry-on bag and a student bag kept right beside her.

Although I was curious, my stepmother urged me to sit down with her eyes, so I buried my curiosity and sat down in an empty seat.

"I'm Koji Ninomiya, nice to meet you. This is my daughter, Airi."

The man in front of me bowed his head as he spoke to me.

He gave me a friendly smile, but to me it looked like a forced smile.

It seemed that the man in front of me – Koji-san – was Airi's father.

"Nice to meet you."

Following Koji-san's lead, Airi bowed deeply to me.

There was no emotion in her voice, and when she raised her head, her face was completely expressionless.

Although I was still curious, I had to get down to business to get the conversation going.

"I'm Minato Kujo, it's nice to meet you. So, what exactly do you want from me?"

I bowed, following their examples and asked what they wanted straightforwardly. But to be honest, I knew what to expect.

It was not normal to take the trouble to meet someone you've never met before like this. If there was any guess, it would probably be a second marriage.

My father had already passed away and was no longer with us. Well, it looked like it was just Koji-san and Airi over there, so I probably guessed right.

If it was just an introduction, I wanted to get it over with.

My stepmother would probably have a good time with these two without me, and I didn't think it was any of my business.

I thought I'd get the obvious answer.

But…

"Minato Kujo, I want you to take my daughter into your home."

Koji-san told me with the exact same smile as before. For some reason, his friendly expression looked eerie.

For a moment, I couldn't understand what he was saying.

I wondered if I had misheard, so I asked again.

"What did you say?"

"I said I want you to take my daughter into your home."

Koji-san's reply was the same, and so was his expression.

Although I was baffled by this sudden request, I couldn't just say I would take her in just because he asked nicely.

For now, I would have to ask his reasons.

"Are you now a blood-related father and daughter?"

"Of course. We are blood-related, but we have a little situation."

"I can't accept this request unless you tell me about the situation. Why would you entrust your own daughter to a stranger?"

Even if he kept smiling fondly at me, I couldn't take her in without an explanation as to why.

When I seemed to remain unconvinced, Koji-san finally pulled back his smile and frowned.

He was probably annoyed that I did not accept his request right away.

"….. Huh, can't be helped. I'm soon getting married to Kaede, your stepmother. This kid will only get in the way."

His voice sounded annoyed. The smile on his face was not the same as the one he had been wearing earlier, and his expression became unfriendly.

Her own father.

Leaving his own daughter to the care of the woman's stepson he was marrying. It wasn't a bit of a stretch by any means. Moreover, it was our first time meeting.

And now the man in front of me had called his own daughter a hindrance, that was not something you say about your own daughter.

I looked at Airi for a moment, but her face didn't even move an eyebrow. It was like she was a real doll.

I clenched my fists under the table and tried to keep my composure.

"I don't think it's fair to call your own daughter a hindrance."

"Well, come on, when we get married, you'll be brother and sister. I'm sure you'll have no problem living together."

He gave me a friendly smile again, but I couldn't respond to such a person in a friendly way now.

No one would be convinced if two high school students suddenly met and were told that they would be brother and sister from that day.

And since he changed the subject, it seemed that he didn't want to bring it up.

"I didn't meet with you today for the first time in a while for you to tell me, I'm going to have a sister."

"You've got the money, so it shouldn't be a problem."

When I objected, my stepmother, who was sitting beside Koji-san, glared at me and brought up the subject of money in an annoyed manner.

It was true that I have no financial problems.

However, it didn't mean that it was okay to take her in because I have the money, and I think the problem was with Airi.

"It's not a matter of my money. Besides, if it's about money, it's her finances you need to be concerned about."

I said this because I thought he would be reluctant to give the money if he thought so little of Airi, but apparently not.

Koji-san smiled nastily.

"Well, then I guess I'll have to pay for some of my daughter's expenses."

In other words, they wanted me to take care of Airi without saying a word because I would probably take care of her expenses.

It's true that Koji-san said he'd pay for it, so I thought we would be able to cover the living expenses for the two of us with that money.

I looked at Koji-san and my stepmother, they had cold smiles on their faces. There was nothing more I could say to them.

I let out a sigh of inevitability and then looked back at them.

"I understand. If it's about the expenses, then it should be fine. But I haven't asked her opinion yet."

If Airi disagreed with this arrangement, or had some sort of opinion about it, we could drop this matter altogether. Maybe even get a little information out of her.

I looked at Airi, who hadn't said a word since our introductions, and asked her.

"Are you sure you want to do this? Living with a guy you've never met?"

Airi looked at me with an emotionless face, just like a doll, and said in a flat voice,

"I'm fine with it."

I took a deep breath and calmed myself. As long as Airi, the one who was having the hardest time, said it was not a problem, there was no need to argue about it here.

If that was the case, I would give them the best conditions I could as compensation for suddenly suggesting such a thing.

"I'm taking her in on a few conditions. You don't mind if I record this, do you?"

"All right, go ahead and say it."

He smiled strangely, as if he was in a good mood because things were going well.

He allowed me to start the voice recorder on my phone, which might come in handy in the future.

"You should pay for Airi Ninomiya's living expenses. I'll send you the paperwork you need for parental approval. At the very least, we need you to do your duty as a parent. And for three years in high school, stay out of our lives until we graduate. That is the condition."

Looking at the two people in front of me, I made my condition clearly. This was the bare minimum that we could compromise on.

"Fine, I'll accept those terms."

It seemed to be an acceptable condition for the other side. Koji-san's face broke into a smile of satisfaction, as if he had finally reached a satisfactory agreement.

"Thank you very much."

I didn't feel like bowing to him, but he was still an elder, and I had to thank him for accepting my terms.

When I lifted my head, Koji-san, still in a good mood, spoke up.

"And Minato-kun, what about your last name? Since your mother and I are getting married, I want you to take the name Ninomiya."

"I refuse. My name is Kujo."

I didn't bother to think about it and immediately declined.

Not that there was any special meaning to the family name Kujo, but since my stepmother was supposed to change her last name, at least one of us should continue to bear this family's name.

Koji-san's face contorted for a moment, but he didn't complain and quickly returned to smiling friendly at me.

"Well, all right then. That's the end of our conversation."

Thus, in the spring of my second year of high school, I began to live with a silver-haired, blue-eyed junior.